Bill Greenwalt, who spearheaded federal information technology management and purchasing reforms and helped draft the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 that reformed federal IT policy, has accepted a position on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Greenwalt takes the place of Jon Etherton, who worked on acquisition issues for Armed Services. Etherton now works at the Aerospace Industries Association as assistant vice president for legislative affairs.

    The White House has chosen Ohio State University law professor Peter Swire to coordinate the Clinton Administration's position on privacy. Swire upstaged the OMB by posting the news on his own Web site before the OMB could issue a press release detailing his duties. Swire started Monday. He has served as a Commerce Department consultant, working with Undersecretary David Aaron in negotiations with European Union officials about the EU's data privacy directive.

    Gov. Gray Davis D-CA named Steven A. Nissen to serve as special assistant for innovation in government. Nissen is the former executive director of the California State Bar. Nissen was also executive director of the nation's largest pro bono law office, Public Counsel, from 1984 to 1997.

    San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne traveled to Washington to ask FCC regulators to act on opening up AT&T/TCI's cable lines. The two companies should be made to sell competitors access to their cable lines so customers can have a choice for high-speed Internet access and other multimedia services, Renne said. Renne is on the FCC's local and state government advisory committee, which asked her to investigate the consumer impact of AT&T's proposed merger with TCI.

    Candice the Librarian made news when Sen. John McCain R-AZ said a Yahoo! search of her first named pointed to porn sites, but who else testified about McCain's Childrens' Internet Protection Act, S.97? In addition to Fort Vancouver Regional Library Associate Director Candice Morgan, the witnesses were: Janie Harris, Executive Director of Solace House; Director of Education Mary Anne Layden of the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania; Net Nanny President Gordon Ross; Bruce Taylor, president and chief counsel of the National Law Center for Children and Families; President Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice; and Vice President/General Counsel Elliot Mincberg of the People for the American Way.

    Bristol Technology released its witness list in its upcoming suit against Microsoft. The trial, scheduled to begin in U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall's Connecticut courtroom June 1, focuses on antitrust allegations by the small Connecticut firm. Family business Bristol keeps it in the family by announcing plans to call its CEO/co-founder Keith Blackwell, co-founder Ken Blackwell and Senior Vice President Jean Blackwell. The company also will call its President, Chane Cullens, and Vice President Mark Hrinya. Also on tap: University of Connecticut professor Richard Langlois, University of Utah Professor Lee Hollar, Stanford University professor William Barnett and attorney Henry Stotsenberg. As for Microsoft, it plans to call its own Vice Presidents Paul Maritz and James Allchin, as well as Microsoft employees Morris Beton, Peter Conway, Viktor Grabner, John Ludwig, Danial Neault, Ramesh Parameswaran and Takeshi Numoto. Microsoft also wants to see all the Bristol execs on the stand.

    Kanakaris Communications will begin posting new music produced by Russ Regan as part of a deal between Kanakaris, Caledon Capital and Code Green Records. Code Green will provide Kanakaris with downloadable music, and Kanakaris will provide Code Green with a Web outlet. Regan has worked with stars like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Elton John, Neil Diamond and Barry White, and his move to Web music may signal that the new medium is the place to be.

    Buzz? Rumors? Hate mail? Self-promotion? Fire it off to Peter J.M. Orvetti.